Bunion shield or protector.



R.E.TU-RNER.

BUNION SHIELD 0R PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1912.

1,073,185. Patented Sept. 16,1913.

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iieciilbatioii of lLetteis fat'ent. I iia'tgi t'e d S'e'pt, 16, Application filed March 29, 1912. Serial No. 687,086.

To all wh'om it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT EDWARD Tnnunn, a. citizen of the United States, and

' a resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, and

State of lilassachusetts, have invented an improvement in Bunion Shields or Proteeters, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying (ll-awings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to blllllflll shields or protectors and more particularly tothose of that type in which the shield or prote'ct-or is provided with an opening or recess to receive the bu'nion and relieve it from the pressure of the boot or shoe or. other foot covering. 4

The invention has f'orits object and aim among other things to provide a bunion shield of the general character above re ferred to which shall be efficient in opera- ,tion, easily applied and remo'ved, and readily and quickly adjustable to feet of any s1ze or shape whatever may be the location of the bunion. These and other features of the invention will best be understood from the following description, taken in connecshows a'bunion shield, embodying one forni of the present invention, in place upon a right foot; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the bunion shield shown in Fig. 1 With the attaching means relaxed preparatory to applying the shield to the foot; Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the bunio-n shield in Fig. l, with the attaching means drawn taut and secured in position as it would be after the shield has been applied to the foot; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the shield shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal, vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig'. 1;

Int-he illustrative embodiment of the in vention shown in the drawings, the pad or shield proper consists of a substantially egg-shaped piece of felt 2, although it Will be understood that it may be composed of any other suitable material or tnay be of any other suitable shape without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. White felt has been round well adapted for this fac'e thereof, when it is positioned upon the foot as shown in Fig. 4. The opening 6 for the reception of the bunion will preferably be located nearer the narrower end portion of the egg-shaped shield and preferably also nearer the edge ivhicli forms the lower edge of the shield when the latter is in posit1on upon the foot, and the material will preferably be beveled around the edge of .theopenlng (5 upon that surface of the Shield which is iii contact with the foot. By referring to F ig. 1, it will be seen that by locating the opening as described, the greater part of the shield is back of the bunion When the latter is in position, which is a great advantage.

Suit-able means are provided for securing or attaching the shiel d to the foot, said means in the embodiment of the invention shown comprising a band or tape 8 having one end secured, as at 10, to the outer surfaceof the shield by stitches 12, or in any other suitable manner. The other or free end portion 14 of the tape passes under a suitable guide herein consisting of a relativel short piece of tape 16 suitably secured adjacent its two ends to the shield upon the latters outer surface, as by stitches 18, or in'any other suitable manner, the tape 8 thus passing relatively loosely between the said guide 16 and forming the loop 20. Suitable mean's are-herein provided for adju'stably securing theffree end portion 14.- to the pad, said means herein consisting of a piece of thread 22. Preferab'ly the piece of thread Will first be threaded through the tape 8, as at 24, adjacent the latters free end which will preferably be turned over, as shown at 26 in Fig. 4, to give added strength to the end portion of the tape, and then through the material of the shield ih substantially the longitudinal direction of that portion of the tape that passes under the guide, the thread emerging from the shield and passing upwardly through thetape at 32. The thread then passesdownwardly through the tape at 34 and into the material 0f the shield, from which it emerges at a point intermediate the point 32 and the free end of the tape, and passes upwardl through the tape at 40, and then downwardly through the tape at newly adjusted position.

42, and into the material of the shield again, from which it finally emerges adjacent the free end of the tape and passes upwardly through the latter as at 4-8. 'VVhile the de-' scribed manner of threading has been found well suited to permit the shield to be readily adjusted, it will be understood that any other manner of threading that, will permit the thread to run freely may be used withoutdepartiug from the spirit of the invention. l

To apply the shield to the foot, assuming that the bunion is on the metatarsal joint of the great toe, the loop 20 is passed over the great toe and the pad, then adjusted upon the foot so that the bunion is properly located in the opening 6. If the loop 20 is not sufliciently large to enable this to be done, it is only necessary to draw upon the tape in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 whereupon the thread 22 will run freely through the holes and thus allow the required length of tape to be readily drawn forwardly through the guide 16. The shield having been positioned upon the foot, as described, with the loop 20 extending around the great toe and the bunion being properly located in the opening 6, the person applying the shield will hold the latter in this position, and then, seizing the free ends and 52 of the thread 22,- will draw steadily upon the latter. The tape will thus be drawn backwardly through the guide 16 until the loop is drawn snugly down between the great toe and the next one and snugly embraces the great toe, and the thread will be drawn taut thus securing the tape in its The free ends 50 and 52 of the thread are now knotted at the points where they emerge through the free end of the tape so as to secure the free end of the tape in close contact with the outer surface of the shield, as shown in Fig. 3.

so far as I am aware, all bunion shields heretofore used' have been applied to the foot with the aid of cement, the latter being used either upon that surface of the shield that is in contact with the foot or else upon bands or tapes that are laid across the shield or along its edges after it has been positioned upon the foot, the portions of said tapes extending beyond the shield being cemented to the foot. It is believed that attempts have been madeheretofore to providera bunion shield that could be applied tothe foot and held in place by means of a rubber band, but so far as I am aware these attempts were not a success as it was'found that in order to securely hold the shield in place the tension of the band had to be so great as to seriously interfere with the circulation; this, and the consequent great pressure exerted by the shield upon the flesh in the vicinity of the bunion, aggravated'the trouble instead of relieving it. As a result,

so far as I am aware, either cement or some other adhesive is used in attaching all bu'nion shields heretofore used to the foot.

It will be apparent that the bunion shield constructed in accordance with the present invention offers many advantages over those above referred to. When a bunion shield is applied to the foot with the aid of an adhesive in whatever form the latter may be used, the shield is necessarily stiffened by the presence of the adhesive and cannot be the expenditure of considerable time, and practically every bunion shield thus removed is thereby rendered incapable of further use. Furthermore, any bunion shield attached to the foot with the aid of adhesive, or otherwise permanently attached thereto,- is non-sanitary in a high degree in that it seriously interferes with the proper cleansing of the foot and particularly of the part affected and is liable itself to become infectious from impurities, as it, and the parts covered thereby, cannot be thoroughly cleansed by washing upon the foot- Furthermore, washing bunion shields applied with the aid of an adhesive, whether upon or off the foot, renders them stiff and therefore unfit for further use.

and many other objections, for it will be seen that the bunion shield constructed in accordance with this invention is'easily applied and removed by the user himself so that it can be removed, the foot and affected part thoroughly cleansed, and the shield then reapplied without any trouble and in a very short time. There is nothing in the construction'of the present shield which will cause it to be injuriously affected by washing. This fact and the ease with which it can be removed and applied, render it capable of use for a considerable time and perfectly sanitary; it is quickly and readily adj usted to feet of all sizes and shapes no matter where the bunion may be located, and 'when applied and adjusted it will, be securely held in place without any injurious binding of the parts. Every part of the device is soft and pliable so that, when'in place, the wearer is practically unaware of the fact except for the relief afforded, as it lies perfectly flat and occupies but very lit tle s ace so that it can be worn with'perfect com ort with any shoe.

I When the shield has once been adjusted to the foot and secured in place thereon byjying the freeends 50, 52 of the thread, all as above described, itis not necessary in order to remove the shield from the foot, to unknot or cut the thread, as the shield can be readily removed and replaced by slipping the loop 20 off and onto the great toe,

tion whenever it is thus replaced.

-and the shield will be held securely in posiremoved without considerable trouble and The present invention overcomes all these While details of construction have been shown which have been -well adapted to carry the invention into efiect, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted or circumscribed thereby, the essentials of the invention being defined in the claims by intentionally broad language comprehensive of various forms or embodiments of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A bunion shield or protectorincluding a pad; a band to secure said pad in position upon the foot; means relatively to adjust the band and pad and coacting means to secure the band in adjusted position.

2. A bunion shieldvor protector including a pad; a band forming a 100 having one end portion secured to said pa means relatively to adjust the other end portion of said loop and pad and coacting means to secure them in adjusted position.

3. A bunion shield or protector including a pad; a band forming a loop havin one end portion secured to said pad; a gui e for said band; and means relatively to adjust said pad and the other end portion of said loop and to secure them to each other in adjusted position.

\4. A bunion shield or protector including a'pad; a flexible band formin a loop havin one end attached to sai ad; means re atively to adjust the free en portion of said loop and pad and coacting means to secure' said free end portion of the loop to said pad, said vpad, band, adjustin and securing means a 1 being of intrinsica 1y yielding or soft material.

5. A bunion shield or protector including a pad of relatively soft material, a flexible band havin one end portion secured to said pad an a thread threaded through the other end portion of said band and through the material of said pad adjustably to secure said free end' port on of the band to the pad.

6. In a bunion shield or protector, a pad 2; a band 8, formingsa loop to extend about a toe and having one end attached to said band; a ide 16 for the band, and a thread adjustabfi to secure the other end of said loop to said pad.

7. A bunion shield or protector including a pad; a band forming a loop for attaching the pad to the foot, one end of the loop bein attached to the pad, and a thread or a justably attaching the other end of the loop to said pad. I

8. In a bunion shield or protector, a .pad; a band forming a loop for securing the pad to the foot, one end of said loop being permanently attached to the ad, and the other end of said loop bein a justably attached to the pad by a t read threaded first through said band, then through the mate-' rial o the pad, then through the hand, then through the material of the pad again, and finally through the band. I

9. In a bunion shield or protector, a pad; a band forming a loo to secure the pad to the foot; and a threa for adjustably securing the band to said pad. I v

10. A bunion shield or protector including a pad; a band forming a loop for attaching the pad to the foot, one end of said loop beinglattached to the pad; and a thread passing. t and the free end portion of said loop, the construction and arrangement being such that by drawing upon the free ends of said thread said free end portion of the loop and pad can be relatively adjusted and then held in adjusted osition by securing the free ends of said t read.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the of two subscribmg witnesses;

ROBERT EDWARD TURNER.

Witnesses:

EDWARD H. PALMER H. GORDON MANN.

its

rough the material of said pad' presence 

